When it comes to car insurance, do you find yourself paying more than you think you should and wishing you had more knowledge before agreeing on a particular car insurance provider? This seems to be the case with most, if not all customers of car insurance providers.

It’s only fair that you would want to be sufficiently covered should you get involved in an accident. Yet, thanks to the sales agents’ persuasiveness and determination to sell their product, we often find ourselves bullied into a policy we are not entirely sure about.

Let’s not give them all the blame though, with the number of insurance companies increasing each year, potential clients should learn to take other aspects into consideration when inquiring. This includes the level of service, quality of product, and customer reviews of each service provider.

1. OUTsurance

Price: Full comprehensive cover at R729 per month and a once off admin fee of R323. Third Party cover at R238 per month.

Benefits Include:

Loyalty is rewarded when customers remain claim-free for three years with R2500 into your account. Two years after that, you will receive 10 percent of your premiums back and every year after that.

According to Edmund (our sales agent) your premiums decrease after 12 months and you are entitled to ask for a re-evaluation of your profile after 12 months which could result in your premiums decreasing.

TRICK ALERT: When your car is written off, expect to pay a flat access of R4600, which is deducted off your payout.

Additional Benefits:

Security features such as a tracking device can be obtained for R75 a month instead of R115-R250 depending on the model when you go through OUTsurance.

Roadside assistance and accommodation coverage (R400) if you are to break down 50 km from home.

Customer Reviews:

A HelloPeter complainant by the name of Brianfa complained about the poor service of OUTsurance’s claims and sales department, when his mother’s car was written off.

“My mother was in an accident, and the vehicle was written off by OUTsurance. The claims department insist that the vehicle’s trade value is R47 000, although my parents phoned the bank, and a dealer, who confirmed the trade value of the vehicle was R90 000. I phoned OUTsurance and requested a quote for new insurance, giving the exact description of the car my mother drove. The advisor confirmed the value of the vehicle to be R90 100.”

The complainant also stated how unprofessional the manager, who assisted sales agent Lilian Matlala, was mentioning he said, “I dare you to prove me wrong on the value of the vehicle.”

Our Experience:

The sales agent was well-versed and explained in detail about my particular car insurance needs in our 31 minute chat. While I advised him I was just inquiring, I still managed to be coaxed into a policy which I later cancelled after an hour for no fee.

2. Discovery

Anyone with a valid driver’s licence can drive the client’s car and will be fully covered.

If your car is written off, Discovery promises to pay back the value you have chosen, such as retail value or market value of your car (retail value is the highest).

TRICK ALERT: For a claim, an excess fee of R3500 is to be paid by the client, and in the case of replacing a window or windscreen, the client would be expected to pay an excess fee of R750.

Additional Benefits:

Cashback every month and up to R200 once you download the Discovery app, which monitors your driving behaviour via your phone. All good driving behaviour counts towards points. A technician is also sent out to do a check-up on your vehicle.

If a client wants a tracking device through Discovery, a fee of R50 will be charged monthly and an installation fee of R150 will be added to your premium.

A locksmith at your service free of charge for those forgetful moments.

10 litres of petrol if fuel is needed.

Free towing and storage.

Legal assistance covered.

Medical expenses covered such as airlifting.

Premiums reduced monthly because, according to King Price, the value of the car decreases and so should monthly premiums.

Third party claims requires no fee for excess.

TRICK ALERT: 10 percent excess fee is expected to be paid by the client. If you are claiming for damage worth less than R7800, you will only pay 10 percent excess fee for liability cover.

Additional Benefits:

Accommodation on offer for client and passengers to the value of R500 per person should the car break down far from home.

Our Experience:

I received an immediate call from King Price, which would have been greatly appreciated if they had not called before we had the chance to finish submitting all relevant car insurance details on the form. The agent called and had almost no personal details which he then had to inquire about in the phone call.

Once completed, the form ended in an error page which is also problematic. Our call with the agent was cut short and he promised to call the next day, but never did.

Another client of King Price had a similar experience, where the agent promised to call back but never did.

“I’ve been calling since last week Wednesday trying to put in a claim for my vehicle that was towed. Every time I call they promise to call me back, but nobody ever does. To make matters worse, I spoke to a very rude staff member who lacked telephone etiquette skills.”

R750 Medical costs for each of the passengers (only on a valid claim).

Modifications On Your Car Affect Your Premium

Did you know your premium is calculated by all questions asked? We were told if you drove a modified vehicle, your premiums would increase slightly. This is because modifications enhance the speed of your car, which insurance providers then consider a high risk.

As a potential client going through the list of benefits on offer, you may immediately consider the cheaper premium, or perhaps one that offers many benefits. As previously mentioned though, you have to really take all factors into consideration.

Consider the Cheaper Option

A cheaper option may end up costing more in the long run when the amount your insurance pays out is not enough to pay for all costs involved in an accident.

On the other side, an insurance policy that offers many benefits include many that you would not use. You have to ask whether it really is worth it to fork out more every month for benefits you have no use for.

Before you decide on a car insurance provider you feel is suitable, ask yourself whether the customer service was up to scratch while inquiring. How quick did they respond to your inquiry? Did they explain everything clearly? This will be indicative of the level of service you can expect from the company going forward.

Living up to your expectations should start from the minute they start making promises.

Review the Call-Backs

As mentioned earlier, some call-backs were instantaneous, whilst Discovery took almost 24 hours to respond.

Be sure to figure out whether sales agents are genuine or just trying to force their car insurance product on you. Sales agents are always friendly, however, take note whether their friendliness is on a professional level or not. We experienced a call agent telling us about his friend’s establishment in Green Point, claiming he owned The Cubana – neither here nor there when applying for car insurance.

Make sure to ask as many questions as possible and do not allow the salesmen to conduct the conversation. We, unfortunately, experienced one or two sales agents who were indignant when we said we would have a think about the package and call back. This is understandable from a sales point of view, but shouldn’t be your problem. Don’t allow cheekiness to intimidate you.

And on a final note…

All the qualities of a company’s representative should help you determine your choice. Yes, it might seem tiresome to call up each and every car insurance provider, but if you don’t ask, find out and compare, you can’t complain.